Microsoft drops price of Kinect

Microsoft has dropped the price of its Kinect peripheral in the Americas and some Asia-Pacific areas, with Australia and New Zealand set to follow on 4 October.

Microsoft's first-gen Kinect
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

The news — published on Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb's blog — puts the US price for Kinect down to US$109.99, stripping off around a third of the cost. There's no current word on what the price drop in Australia will be, or if any of the other regions (including Europe and Japan) can expect a similar saving in the near future.

The news does add some credence to the rumours of a Kinect 2 that did the rounds earlier this month, including a leaked photo purporting to be the new Kinect in action, showing greater depth recognition and even the ability to identify individual finger movement.

The Kinect currently retails for $198 in Australia as a stand-alone peripheral, or can be bought bundled with an Xbox 360.